Mantis Murder Manor

[Ratvan]

I think I am still able to differentiate between the original and the split 

 

Split at the bottom and mini carpet gone for a walk 🤷‍♂️. That's why I like the main single rock, everything in the tank shapes and aquascapes the place for me so I let it do its thing. 

 

Also this Snail is pushing its luck, mantis has knocked the algae of the shell

 

[Ratvan]

Number of BTAs is up to 3, looks like OG mama nem has split again. 

Can see the three feet clearer in the last

 

[Ratvan]

 

Today's game of spot the mini maxi anemone

[Ratvan]

So I have been thinking a lot about the Clean up Crew and this tank, obviously Mantis Shrimp does mantis things so once again I am down to the indistructa-hermit. I am aware that I need to keep on top of the GHA in the tank but am thinking about inverts or possibly fish that might be able to assist in keeping the algae down as well as being tough or fast enough to escape the Mantis.

 

So I have been thinking of

1. Molly, seem to do quite well in the RSM130D with the Lionfish, they seem to have learned by now to avoid swimming near any overhanging structure in the tank.

2. Strawberry Conch, stays buried in the sand so possibly could avoid the Mantis shrimp, plus hopefully large enough for Virgis to not bother it.

3. Urchin, I assume that the Urchin would be safe from the Mantis again due to size, also plenty to eat in the tank at the moment.

4. Cowrie, they look super cool. that is all

[rimga123]

I think that anything that is big enough should work fine. I am personally not a big fan of hermits, but a large turbo snail should do the trick? I have seen some to get very big. Tuxedo urchin should survive mantis i think or a pencil urchin, they don't get huge, but they would be bulldozers, you don't have any  unglued frag plugs it seems or anything like that, so you should be fine with them. Some conhes get really big, but would it have enough food in your tank? also the are the best hair algae eater that i have seen, they even eat the very long string of it. And i find that mollies are not that great  at eating algae as I thought that they would be after reading about them in the reef tanks. but hey would give you some movement and some sailfin species get really big and look quite fabulous

[Ratvan]

1 hour ago, rimga123 said:

I think that anything that is big enough should work fine. I am personally not a big fan of hermits, but a large turbo snail should do the trick? I have seen some to get very big. Tuxedo urchin should survive mantis i think or a pencil urchin, they don't get huge, but they would be bulldozers, you don't have any  unglued frag plugs it seems or anything like that, so you should be fine with them. Some conhes get really big, but would it have enough food in your tank? also the are the best hair algae eater that i have seen, they even eat the very long string of it. And i find that mollies are not that great  at eating algae as I thought that they would be after reading about them in the reef tanks. but hey would give you some movement and some sailfin species get really big and look quite fabulous

Yeah the Hermits were a snack as i couldnt find feeder shrimps for such a long time and she at the time didnt take frozen. 

 

The only unglued things are the Anemones, everything else i just let attach to the rock (Xenia mainly, few mushrooms), i think that a conch would have plenty to eat in the tank as i am regularly picking it from the rocks and the sand.  

[rimga123]

I wish that Brexit didn't happen, id send you some frags free of charge.
i am also struggling to get feeder shrimps, i want them for my pest tank, conch would be a great addition, they are such a characters, and you can always supplement with algae wafers

[Bigals-nano-1]

I think a tuxedo urchin would be a good shout and the anemones will be ok. My urchin has never bothered any of my corals or picked anything up since I put a hat on his head. I have a few different ones and give a change now and again. 

[debbeach13]

Now I want to see the other hats. Had to go look. In your thread I saw a yellow one

[Bigals-nano-1]

23 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Now I want to see the other hats. Had to go look. In your thread I saw a yellow one

 

[Ratvan]

13 hours ago, Bigals-nano-1 said:

I think a tuxedo urchin would be a good shout and the anemones will be ok. My urchin has never bothered any of my corals or picked anything up since I put a hat on his head. I have a few different ones and give a change now and again. 

Might have to find one that looks like a Bullseye.

 

In completely unrelated news I have the chance to take in a pair of Wild Betta Api Api, which is really interesting me at the minute so a lot of reading and studying is going into that, especially that they are highly endangered in the wild and tough to find in the Hobby

[Bigals-nano-1]

3 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Might have to find one that looks like a Bullseye.

 

In completely unrelated news I have the chance to take in a pair of Wild Betta Api Api, which is really interesting me at the minute so a lot of reading and studying is going into that, especially that they are highly endangered in the wild and tough to find in the Hobby

Haha. And bully’s special prize is………

Betta api api are lovely fish but that’s another tank unless you already have somewhere for them to go. 

[Ratvan]

1 minute ago, Bigals-nano-1 said:

Haha. And bully’s special prize is………

Betta api api are lovely fish but that’s another tank unless you already have somewhere for them to go. 

I dont mind another tank in the Office. Or Offish at this rate 

[Ratvan]

So since I have had this mantis shrimp since September I have never seen any sign of a moult, I assume that she must have eaten it or the sections far too small for me to spot. Apart from today (fancied a day off to sleep and eat and do nothing) when I saw something in the tank. 

 

I have checked and this is just a moult as she still has both smashers intact. 

 

[Ratvan]

Hopefully these wont all become snacks for the Mantis Shrimp, if they do at least they are cheap i guess.

[Ratvan]

Delivery day

 

[Ratvan]

Making his mark in the CuC

[Zer0]

I see you removed some LR, I think? I like the open sandbed look much more.

[Ratvan]

29 minutes ago, Zer0 said:

I see you removed some LR, I think? I like the open sandbed look much more.

I did yes, originally was for the mini carpet anemone that now lives in the top corner of the tank behind the return nozzle but since thats not moved from there in weeks that is where i assume it lives now so i removed the rock. 

 

The rocks were also causing some dead spots and algae issues so i was thankful to open it up a bit more, upgrade my CuC and hopefully look at adding something a bit more interesting next time around.

[Ratvan]

Thanks to the Conch the Glass and Sandbed look cleaner then they have in months, I might actually have to scrape the coralline algae off of the viewing panes at this rate. Will also be picking up some Nori sheets and frozen Fresh Prawns from the Asian Supermarket later for this tank. I like to have a variety of foods and even though I have algae wafers I would prefer Nori for the Conch if it is required. 

 

I did spot Vergis stalking the Conch earlier and then panic and run away when he used his foot to jump 😂

[Ratvan]

Also I forgot to mention that since the Mini Carpet Anemone is staying in the upper right hand side of the tank in and around the Nozzle i am considering setting up a small tank dedicated to this anemone and maybe picking up some Sexy Shrimp or a Porcelain Anemone Crab 

[StinkyBunny]

On 3/22/2022 at 7:35 AM, Ratvan said:

Might have to find one that looks like a Bullseye.

 

In completely unrelated news I have the chance to take in a pair of Wild Betta Api Api, which is really interesting me at the minute so a lot of reading and studying is going into that, especially that they are highly endangered in the wild and tough to find in the Hobby

Just make sure you keep those wild Bettas WARM at least 27-28C. Get some botanicals going in the tank as well, they absolutely will not tolerate hard alkaline water for very long. Peat, alder cones or Indian almond leaves are what I'd use. The alder cones really stain the water with tannins and the Bettas seem to really like them.

[debbeach13]

If you set a tank up for the anemone and one for the Betta's how many tanks will you be running? Is it 4 or 5?

[Ratvan]

13 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

If you set a tank up for the anemone and one for the Betta's how many tanks will you be running? Is it 4 or 5?

That will be 4, still trying to find the right tank for the Bettas and want to do a fancy build for it before I get the pair. 

[Ratvan]

I feel a plot is being formed here